Kirk here. I hope I can be forgiven for writing about something that pertains to Japan as a whole and is only relevant to Kumamoto in the sense that Kumamoto is part of Japan. I’ll try to keep such deviations from the main theme of this page to a minimum.

Last night on NHK and on TBS (and I assume on other major networks as well) anouncers explained that Abe’s assassin was angry about Abe’s alledged involvement with a “religious organization” (宗教団体) but did not name the organization. Today I looked at the Asahi Shimbun (Japaneses version) but their converage was the same – mentioining some religious organization but not giving the name of the cult and not explaining whether or not Abe actually had any connection to it. In fact, at least one TV report said that police were claiming that the connection to the religious organization with something that the assailant “imagined” (思い込み). I just searched and such an explanation came up write away: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/aa21d4a85c2a5a2afb03e11ce0e667c036bf45f2

“奈良県警は山上容疑者が、安倍氏はこの団体に近いと思い込み、一方的に強い殺意を抱いていた疑いが強いとみて詳細な動機を調べている。”

This, however, is extremely misleading. In fact, as a bit of searching on the internet quickly reveals, the “religious organization” is the Unified Church (so-called “Moonies”; 統一教会) and Abe’s connection to it is far from “imagined.”

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-tetsuya-yamagami-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/ New details emerge about the man who assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe

—- start quote —- There are also ties between both Mr. Abe and the LDP and the Unification Church, which quickly became a trending topic on Japanese social media Saturday. Many commenters resurfaced clips of a speech Mr. Abe gave at an event organized by the group last year, alongside former U.S. President Donald Trump and Cambodian leader Hun Sen. Now officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the church was founded by South Korean pastor Sun Myung Moon in 1954 and is known for cultivating ties with conservative politicians around the world. The group has had links to the LDP dating back decades, including to Mr. Abe’s father, former Japanese foreign minister Shintaro Abe. —- end quote —-

Of course, I am appalled by the horrific murder and do not, by any means, wish to suggest that there was good reason for the attack. In addition, I can understand avoiding the publication of the attacker’s complaint against Abe and thereby doing his bidding and also encouraging others to undertake henious crimes to publicize their grievances. But, at the same time, I have serious reservations about keeping the public in the dark – or even seriously misleading the public with words like “imagined” – about what has actually transpired.

One more point is that the self-censorship that concerns me seems to have started long before the attack. So, I think it’s difficult to justify it only as a response to a horrific murder. It would seem that refraining from discussing Abe’s connection to the Moonies is a long-standing policy – not merely a response to extreme circumstances.

Any thoughts?